Soapbox heroes

>> Jem Cohen's Instrument gets the reel dope on Fugazi

by JOHNSON CUMMINS

 D.I.Y. punk rock kings Fugazi have largely been lionized as P.C. preachers and as humourless as a wet sock. Filmmaker Jem Cohen, who made the Fugazi documentary Instrument, understood that berating people with their already well-documented politics (only all-ages shows, no shows over $5, straightedge, etc.) would be as much fun as watching paint peel. Cohen is quick to point out this is not his intention when he captures a sleep-deprived singer/guitarist Guy Picciotto plotting the death of George Burns.

 What's this? A sense of humour? In another scene, singer/guitarist Ian Mackaye explains that he got a letter where the author assumed that Fugazi lived in a commune with no heat. After a second of pause, the entire band breaks up laughing. Okay, so Fugazi are hardly the Don Knotts of punk--but this is good stuff.

 With a clever collage of video, Super-8 and 16mm footage, the end result, much like Fugazi's music, comes across as a work in progress. Fugazi provides some instrumental soundtrack which, when put up against the slow-motion live angst shots, is stunning.

 In fact, the closest Cohen gets to telling the story of Fugazi is when he just lets the music do the talking. One shot in particular has Picciotto hanging upside down from a basketball hoop in a Philadelphia community centre and, in another electrifying scene, we see Picciotto and Mackaye locked into a noisy guitar cacophony--which is the closest Cohen gets to summing up this great rock band.

 Sadly, the live footage is always pulled just a little to soon, probably in an effort to avoid being just another concert film. But Instrument, flawed as it is, is anything but. :

 

At Concordia's Auditorium (1455 De Maisonneuve, Room H-110), Thursday, March 16, 8:30pm. Admission: donation of $2 or more